Coronavirus reduces Tata Capital’s second PE fund by half

By Beena Parmar

  • 18 Jan 2021
Credit: VCCircle

Tata Capital’s second private equity fund has raised Rs 1,250 crore (about $170 million) to mark the final close.

Tata Capital Growth Fund II, managed by the financial services arm of the diversified Tata group, raised this amount from existing as well as new investors.

These include global and European funds of funds, Japanese institutions and an Asian development finance institution (DFI).

The fundraise is almost half of the target.

“Covid was responsible in a big way as it has changed perceptions and so it (fund size) was reduced…We did not extend the fund life as we had to look after the interest of our existing investors,” said Akhil Awasthi, managing partner at the fund.

Tata Capital Growth Fund II was launched in 2017, according to VCCEdge.

“Total funds raised worth Rs 1,250 crore will be invested in the three investment themes identified by the team, namely, strategic services, urbanisation and discrete manufacturing, in a continuation of the investment strategy pursued by Tata Capital Growth Fund I,” Tata Capital said in a statement.

The fund typically invests between $10 million and $35 million per transaction. “Our sweet spot is around Rs 100 crore (around $13.5 million),” Awasthi said.

Its portfolio includes IT solutions startup Indusface Consulting Pvt. Ltd and Biocon Biologics where the fund agreed to invest Rs 225 crore ($30.11 million) in July.

Like the first fund, this vehicle cannot invest more than 20% of its corpus in Tata group companies. It also does not have the mandate to invest in the parent group. The growth fund will continue to focus on mid-sized market opportunities, Awasthi said.